Return of condor heroes, p.162
Return of Condor Heroes, page 162
The monk in black was shocked. He yelled, “There was someone in the snow!” The white-eyebrowed monk quickly came out and bent down to examine the body. The thin beggar was struck by the extremely powerful palms of the monk in black, and thus he was killed violently. The monk in black was all confused and became dully still.
Elder Peng acted like he was frightened and said, “This person was really strange. Why did he hide in the snow? Eh, why was he holding a knife?” Elder Peng had used his “Soul Absorbing Technique”, urging the monk in black to kill the thin beggar. He was very pleased with himself. Still, he couldn’t help being puzzled and thought to himself, “Surprisingly this servant had endurance, hiding very still in the snow. Could it be that the snow was blocking his ears and so he didn’t hear me urging that man to hit him?”
With a dull look in his eyes the monk in black could only cry out, “Master!” The white-eyebrowed monk said, “Such a pity. It wasn’t you who killed this person, yet it was you who did it.” The monk in black crouched down on the snow and his voice trembled, “I don’t understand.” The white-eyebrowed monk said, “You only knew that this was a snowman so you didn’t mean to hurt people. But your palms were wickedly powerful, without restraint. How can it be said that you didn’t have murderous intentions?” The monk in black said, “I certainly had murderous intentions.”
The white-eyebrowed monk looked at Elder Peng with a long steady gaze. His eyes were gentle, yet filled with grief. Simply with just this look, Elder Peng’s great ‘Soul Absorbing’ spell vanished. The monk in black suddenly cried out, “You are one of the Beggar Clan’s elders. It now came to my mind!” The cat-like smile on Elder Peng’s face disappeared in an instant. He frowned and shrewdly said, “And you are Iron Palms Chief Qiu. How did you become a monk?”
This monk in black was precisely Iron Palms Qiu Qianren. Years ago, on Mount Hua, he suddenly regretted all that he’d done and became a monk under Reverend Yideng’s tutelage. And this white-eyebrowed, old monk was Reverend Yideng, who was in the same league as Wang Chongyang, Huang Yaoshi, Ouyang Feng, and Hong Qigong. Qiu Qianren shaved his head and became a monk named Ci’en, following a Buddhist’s path and diligently mending his ways. But he’d done many despicable things in the past, making it very difficult to eliminate the monster in his heart. Facing the many temptations in the world, he couldn’t resist hurting people. And so he’d made a pair of strong manacles so that whenever his mind became troubled, he could shackle his hands and feet, keeping his evilness in check. At this time Reverend Yideng, who usually secluded himself in Hunan, had received a letter asking for help from his disciple Zhu Ziliu. So he and Ci’en were now on their way to the Passionless Valley. Nobody could have expected that they would run into Elder Peng on this remote mountain. Ci’en actually had no intention to hurt people.
In over ten years since becoming a monk, although Ci’en had violated some rules, this was actually the first time he had taken someone’s life. His mind was greatly disturbed, feeling that over ten years of his Buddhist study was all for nothing. He gave Elder Peng a vicious stare, with raging fire in his eyes.
Reverend Yideng knew that this was a critical moment. If one used force to stop him from getting into a fight, his evilness would multiply. Like a bursting flood, once released, there would be no redemption. Having thought this, he only looked at Ci’en with kindness, hoping that his evil thoughts would just melt away when he came to his senses. He kindly stood by him and gently chanted, “Amituofo, Amituofo!” He repeated this several times until Ci’en stopped staring at Elder Peng and came back to sit in the house, breathing heavily.
Elder Peng had known earlier that Qiu Qianren’s martial skills were weighty but he didn’t recognize Reverend Yideng. Seeing the snow-white eyebrows, he mistook Reverend Yideng for a weak monk on the verge of death and paid him no attention. He only thought to use his ‘Soul Absorbing’ skill to control Qiu Qianren and achieve his goal. Who would have thought that as soon as Reverend Yideng looked at him, he felt as if his heart was crushed by a thousand-catty weight, he was not able to use his magical skill. By this time he’d almost wet his pants. He wanted to flee but this Qiu Qianren was also nicknamed “Iron Palms Floating on Water.” His lightness skills were strange; he didn’t even leave footprints on the snow. It looked like he wouldn’t be able to escape so he only hoped that Qiu Qianren would listen to the words of the white-eyebrowed monk, who was persuading Qiu Qianren not to harm him. He shrank himself in the corner of the room, frightened. And as Ci’en’s pants grew heavier, his heart also thumped wildly.
Yang Guo had listened to Yideng telling the three-deer story. Now he thought about how no living things could escape death. Even though that thin beggar was wicked and deserved to be damned, his sudden encounter with this disaster was actually quite shocking. And more than that, he saw that Ci’en’s palm strength was strangely fierce. Who was this monk with such powerful martial skills?
Then he heard Ci’en panting for air and loudly crying out, “Master, I was born an evil person. Heaven wouldn’t let me repent. Although I didn’t mean to kill people, I finally couldn’t avoid taking somebody’s life. I’m not a monk anymore!”
Yideng said, “Sin, sin! Let me tell you another Buddhist tale.” Ci’en rudely retorted, “Why should I still listen to your Buddhist tale? You’ve been deceiving me for more than ten years. I don’t believe you anymore.” With two ‘ge-la’ ‘ge-la’ sounds, the chains on his hands and feet snapped. Yideng gently said, “Ci’en, what’s done is done. You don’t have to get angry.”
Ci’en stood up. Facing Yideng, he shook his head. Then he turned his body around and struck Elder Peng’s chest with both palms. With a loud crashing sound, Elder Peng collided with a wall and flew out into open space. After having been struck by these ‘Iron Palms’, his muscles and bones shattered. Even if he had ten lives, he would still be dead.
Hearing this loud crash, Yang Guo and Xiao Longnu jumped in fright and, side by side, came out of the room. They saw Ci’en raising his hands up high, with his eyes shining with murderous lights. He loudly shouted, “What are you looking at? Once started, I might as well go all the way. Today this old man will start killing.” Having said this, he channeled energy to his arms and was about to use his ‘Iron Palms’ again.
Reverend Yideng walked to the door entrance, shielding Yang Guo and Xiao Longnu’s bodies. He sat down cross-legged and recited Buddhist verses. Then he said, “You haven’t gone too far on the wrong path. You can still return. Ci’en, do you really want to sink beyond redemption?”
Ci’en’s face turned blue and then red. His mind was extremely chaotic, with good and evil battling it out. Today his mind had been troubled since they encountered the snow, and it was also stirred up by the “Soul Absorbing Skill”. More than that, he’d killed two people, making it very difficult to control himself. One minute Reverend Yideng was his gracious master who had been helping him, and the next he actually became his biggest personal enemy.
For a moment he stood there stiffly. Then his evil thoughts became stronger and stronger. Suddenly he gave a loud shout and attacked Reverend Yideng with his palm. Reverend Yideng brought his hand up to his chest, his body slightly swaying, as he blocked that palm strike. Ci’en angrily said, “You surely won’t be able to defeat me!” Then his left palm struck again. Reverend Yideng raised his hand, yet he didn’t counterstrike. Ci’ en shouted, “Aren’t you clever? You don’t hit back. Then you’ll die in vain. Don’t blame me!”
Even though his mind was disturbed, his words actually made sense. His ‘Iron Palms’ and Reverend Yideng’s “One Yang Finger” both claimed victories in battles, and years ago they were ranked equal in the martial world. Yideng’s Buddhist study was the basis of their master-disciple relationship. But speaking of martial skills, even if Yideng used the “One Yang Finger” against the ‘Iron Palms’ skill it actually would be somewhat inferior. In a one-way attack, using his whole strength to counterstrike, he might only win by a small margin, but as time went by, Yideng would eventually be killed or severely injured. Bravely, Yideng was willing to sacrifice himself, and received Ci’en’s palm strikes without hitting back. He only hoped that Ci’en would realize his mistakes and repent. This act of not using force against force was actually a battle between good and evil.
Yang Guo and Xiao Longnu witnessed how each of Ci’en’s ‘Iron Palms’ was like an axe striking Reverend Yideng. Coming to the fourteenth strike, Yideng let out a ‘wa’ sound and coughed up blood. Startled, Ci’en said, “Aren’t you going to fight back?” Yideng gently responded, “Why should I fight back? What good is it if I win? What good is it if you win? We must fight with ourselves, restrain ourselves!” Ci’en was confused, muttering, “Must fight with ourselves, and restrain ourselves!”
Reverend Yideng’s words were like thunder rumbling in Yang Guo’s mind. He thought to himself, “Must fight our own nature, and must restrain our foolish thoughts. It’s certainly much more difficult than defeating powerful enemies. The words of this esteemed monk are really the truth.” He saw that Ci’en’s palms pause slightly in midair but, with a shout, they eventually struck down again. Yideng’s body shook, and he threw up another pool of blood, staining his white beard and monk’s robe.
Having seen Yideng’s defense techniques and endurance, Yang Guo knew that his martial skills were in no way inferior to those of the monk in black. But this was a one-sided attack, and even a body of iron and stone could eventually be destroyed. Now, he already admired Yideng to no end, knowing full well that he wanted to sacrifice himself to change that evil person. Anyway, he couldn’t bear to see Reverend Yideng perish like this. He thought about how he himself, if using only palm strength, wouldn’t be able to block the ‘Iron Palms’ of that monk in black. He turned around to grab his black iron sword and wielded it, shielding Yideng’s body. He waited for Ci’en to strike with his ‘Iron Palms’ again and then thrusts forward his sword.
The wind stirred up by the black iron sword clashed with the palm wind. Their bodies trembled.
Ci’en let out a surprised sound. Never would he expect that there would be a young hunter with such marvelous martial skills living on a wild mountain. Reverend Yideng also looked at Yang Guo in great surprise.
Ci’en sharply shouted, “Who are you? What are you doing?”
Yang Guo said, “The great reverend has given you great advice, how come you don’t realize that? Not listening to the precious words is bad enough, but you have to be hateful and harm him. How would you not be worse than an animal acting like this?”
Ci’en furiously shouted, “Are you from the Beggar Clan too? Do you want to accompany that evil elder of the clan?”
Yang Guo laughed and said, “Those two people were the scum of the Beggar Clan. Your getting rid of those evil people was actually a good deed. Why must you beat yourself over it?”
Ci’en was startled, mumbling to himself, “Getting rid of those evil people was actually a good deed… Getting rid of those evil people was actually a good deed…”
Yang Guo had been behind the wall listening to their master-disciple verbal exchange, and so he understood Ci’en’s concerns, knowing that remorse caused him to hate and stirred up his evil thoughts. He continued, “Those people were traitorous disciples of the Beggar Clan, like a wolf hiding in our homeland of China. Your killing two such people was really a great thing. If they hadn’t been killed, I don’t know how many of our fellow Buddhists might have had to die. Lord Buddha is merciful but, meeting with such demons, how could benevolence still be used to expel evil spirits?”
Yang Guo’s knowledge of Buddhist doctrines was very shallow but to Ci’en’s ears what he said actually made sense. He slowly put down his hands but then he changed his mind, vividly recalling that in the past he himself had allied with the Jin, helping them invade the great Song country. And so it was like Yang Guo was actually derogating him. He suddenly raised his palm to hack down at Yang Guo and said, “Little animal, what nonsense are you jabbering?”
This palm was fast and furious. Yang Guo was busy trying to persuade him with words and didn’t expect Ci’en to suddenly launch an attack. By the time the wind from his palm arrived, it was too dangerous to counterstrike with his own force. And so he went along with that palm strength, his body leaping backward. There came two crashing sounds as he crashed into a wooden wall, and his body was thrown out of the house. Reverend Yideng was startled and thought to himself, “Would this young man have to die like this? It looked like his martial skills were good! Alas, how would I be able to save his life?” His mind was greatly troubled.
The fire in the room was suddenly blown out by a gust of wind rushing through that hole in the wall. Yang Guo came in with the wind, his sword pointing at Ci’en. He shouted, “Good, today you and I will fight.” Ci’en shot out his left palm, aiming to strike Yang Guo’s sword tip with his palm strength. But Yang Guo’s swordplay was really a testimony of Dugu Qiubai’s ingenuity. Even though their ages were far apart, he shouldn’t have been able to match this old master. With his sword practice under the mountain streams, the snake gallbladders that boosted his energy, and the Divine Eagle’s help, Yang Guo’s sword skills were very similar to those of the unparalleled Demonic Sword Master of the past era. As Ci’en’s palm arrived, Yang Guo’s sword tip was only nudged a few inches aside, and it was still pointing at Ci’en’s left arm. Horrified, Ci’en dodged to the right to escape the sword and quickly sent out another palm strike. With the two people’s marvelous skills, the palms and the sword were battling violently.
Yideng watched the fight in wonder. This youth was only twenty years old or so but surprisingly, could fight a draw with master Qiu’s ‘Iron Palms’. His own knowledge was vast, yet he couldn’t recognize where Yang Guo’s martial skills came from. Also, his heavy sword was marvelously strange. Then he turned his head back and saw Xiao Longnu with a baby in her arms, standing by the door. She appeared a beautiful woman, with an elegant look. Surprisingly she didn’t seem to be frightened by the two people’s wicked fight at all. He thought to himself, “This young lady isn’t a common character either.” But then he noticed a dark cloud between her eyebrows and couldn’t help letting out an ‘ayo’ cry. Xiao Longnu faintly smiled and thought, “You’ve figured it out.”
By now the fight between the two people, a sword and two palms became even fiercer. Yang Guo had the advantage of using a weapon but Ci’en had one more arm, and so they were about even. There came a loud crashing sound as a wooden plank was shaken loose. More cracking sounds were heard as a post also snapped. This wooden house was small and not very sturdy. Really, it was no place for the two great masters to fight a battle. Wherever the sword edge and the palm wind went, the wooden boards on the four walls would all fly in chaos. Finally they heard another loud cracking sound as another post snapped, causing the whole house to collapse. With Guo Xiang in her arms, Xiao Longnu dove out through the window. Yideng guarded their back, using his gown sleeves to brush away the flying debris.
In the howling wind and blowing snow, the two people’s wicked fight continued on. In over ten years, Ci’en had never got into a fight like this. He gave out a loud cry, his Iron Palms flitting and flying everywhere. Over a hundred moves passed, but his opponent’s sword strength was even more powerful. With his declining years, he’d gradually lose the fight. Yang Guo thrust his sword straight out. Seeing Ci’en dodging the blow, he quickly swept his sword around, and the fierce wind sent the snow swirling. Blinded by the snow, Ci’en quickly lifted his hand to wipe it off. Suddenly the black iron sword made contact with his right shoulder, and he felt as if his body was crushed by a thousand-catty weight. Not being able to keep his balance, he tumbled down with Yang Guo’s sword tip on his chest. Although the sword was blunt, its force was strangely fierce. With its tip pressing against his breast bone, he could only breathe out but couldn’t breathe in enough air.
At this time the word ‘die’ flashed in the mind of Ci’en. Since the time he’d learned his marvelous martial skills, he’d roamed Jianghu, only knowing how to kill and injure others. Extremely rarely had he run into any setbacks. He’d been defeated by Zhou Botong, and he’d run away to the Western region. Later on he’d depended on clever tricks to get away from the Old Urchin. This time death was nearing as it never had before. He thought that death itself wasn’t a big thing but he felt that if his life was cut short like this, he wouldn’t be able to make amends for all sorts of evil things he’d done in the past. Reverend Yideng’s thousands and thousands of words couldn’t get through to him but Yang Guo’s one sword made him realize that, “Killing brings misery. I only knew how to kill people. Being killed like this is actually miserable.”
Having seen Yang Guo defeating Ci’en, Reverend Yideng thought to himself, “Such a young hero is really very rare.” Then he stepped forward and touched the sword blade with his finger. Heat shot through Yang Guo’s left arm, and his black iron sword was immediately brushed aside.
Ci’en stood up and then threw himself down on the ground. He cried out, “Master, I deserve to die a terrible death. I deserve to die a terrible death!” With a faint smile, Yideng patted him on the back and said, “Change is not easy. Why haven’t you thanked this young hero for the lesson?”
Yang Guo had earlier suspected that this old monk was Reverend Yideng. Having seen this monk brushing aside his sword blade with one finger, he thought that this ‘One Yang Finger’ and Island Master Huang’s ‘Divine Flicking Finger’ were equally exquisite, and there was no third person in the world who could match their finger strength. He immediately kowtowed and said, “Disciple Yang Guo pays respect to Reverend.” He saw Ci’en kneeling down before him so he quickly said, “Senior, please don’t do that. I’m younger than you. Just now I’ve offended you enough.” Then he pointed at Xiao Longnu and said, “This is my wife, named Long. Quickly come kowtow to the Reverend.” With Guo Xiang in her arms, Xiao Longnu stepped forward to greet him.
